Deaths from alcohol and drug overdoses declined for the second straight year in Baltimore and are at their lowest level since 1995, when the city began recording the data, according to a Health Department report released today.
In 2008, 176 people died of a drug overdose in Baltimore, compared with 281 in 2007, a decrease of about one-third.
Baltimore health officials called the figures significant and noted that they come at a time when overdose rates in other cities are climbing. They said increased treatment slots, better outreach to addicts and a five-year-old program that teaches drug abusers how to avoid overdosing themselves have contributed to the decline.
"Short and sweet: Treatment works," said Gregory Warren, executive director of Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, the quasi-governmental agency that oversees drug treatment in the city. "There are literally hundreds of people alive today because of what's happening."
With the help of a $1.1 million grant from the state Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration, the city has expanded treatment slots for heroin addicts treated with buprenorphine, which health officials contend is helping decrease overdoses.
Mayor Sheila Dixon credited the increase in treatment and said partnerships between advocates and the health department are helping improve overdose statistics.
"It's not often that we get a lot of good news when it comes to drugs," she said in an interview. "It's something we should be proud about and is due to a lot of hard work on behalf of our addiction counselors and recovery workers."
While the report signals an important shift, Warren and other drug abuse experts said the city's decades-long drug problem is still severe and demand for residential treatment slots is so great that most facilities don't bother keeping waiting lists.
"I think this is a human tragedy that has just been incredibly sad for Baltimore City," Warren said. "Families have been torn apart. Neighborhoods have seen residents dying on the streets, literally."
Some 74,000 people needed substance abuse treatment last year, according to state estimates, but Warren's organization was only able to reach 16,000 of them, he said.
"If you were able to offer substance abuse treatment to more people, we would be able to continue this positive trend," he said. "Of course, we'd like to get to treatment on demand. But that's a tall order."
